Share Article

Knowledge Matters has announced that students from over 50 universities worldwide competed in a video game-like hotel simulation to maximize profit and customer satisfaction. The competition, a joint effort by International Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education, Collegiate DECA and Knowledge Matters, was won by Miguel Angelo Enano from University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

Miguel Angelo Enano

I’ve learned so much from this experience, mostly about balancing all the factors that affect the success of managing a business.

Northampton, MA (PRWEB)December 16, 2015

Miguel Angelo Eñano, a student at the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Manila’s University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, has won first place in the ICHRIE & Collegiate DECA Virtual Business Hotel Competition. The competition, co-sponsored by ICHRIE, Collegiate DECA and Knowledge Matters, challenged students to manage a hotel profitably, setting revenue management policies, and operating the hotel restaurant. Participants were ranked based on a balanced scorecard that included profitability, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, and inventory levels.

Funded by the ICHRIE Future Fund, prizes will be awarded at the 2016 annual ICHRIE summer conference in Dallas, Texas. Miguel has won the first prize of $1000. Chunhao Wei of Florida International University placed second, winning $750; Daniel Fung of Ryerson University placed third, winning $500. Complete rankings can be found on the Knowledge Matters site.

Miguel competed online against several hundred students from universities worldwide, including students from the Americas, Europe and Asia. He said the competition “is a fun way to apply everything that we have learned so far as hospitality management students in a simulated hotel setup. It requires a lot of skills to properly manage your own hotel and restaurant. It is not enough to generate a higher profitability for your hotel. It is important to also monitor the satisfaction of both your customers and your employees. The strategy is to study your target market and their behavior thoroughly. Then, you can manipulate the prices of the rooms to fit your customers’ demands and to determine which menu items to offer in your restaurant. The challenge also requires that you set just the right number of staff with appropriate scheduling and the right amount of par stocks in order to reduce expenses and maximize the profit. I’ve learned so much from this experience, mostly about balancing all the factors that affect the success of managing a business. The competition was really tough. I was up against other prestigious schools from around the world. It was never easy getting that top spot and maintaining it was even harder. Luckily, I managed to grab first place by the end of the competition."

The ICHRIE and Collegiate DECA Virtual Business Hotel Competition was exclusively for students that are either current Collegiate DECA members, or who are enrolled at schools that are ICHRIE institutional members.Participating schools included:

American Public University, Auburn University, Bellevue College, Bridgewater State University, Budapest Metropolitan University of Applied Sciences, California State University, Cascadia College, Collin College, Collins College of Hospitality Management (Cal Poly Pomona), Creighton University, DePaul University, Dixie State University, Eastern Michigan University, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Florida International University, Florida State University, Fort Hays State University, Full Sail University, Humber College, International University of Applied Sciences, Inver Hills Community College, Johnson and Wales University, LDS Business College, Long Beach State University, Mayville State University, New York State University at Buffalo, North Seattle College, Oakland University, Pennsylvania State University, Pittsburgh Technical Institute, Purdue University, Ridgewater College, Rosen College of Hospitality, Ryerson University, San Jose State University, Scottsdale Community College, Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Center, Stenden University, Stockton University, Stratford University, Texas Tech University, Universidad de Las Américas, University College of Northern Denmark, University of Arizona, University of Central Florida, University of Mississippi, University of Nevada Las Vegas, University of North Dakota, University of San Francisco, University of Santo Tomas, University of Texas, University of Wisconsin, Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of Guelph-Humber, University of Hawaii, Valley City State University, Virginia State University, Wilfried Laurier University

About Knowledge Matters:

Knowledge Matters, the developer of the Virtual Business Hotel simulation, is the leading maker of educational simulation technology, with simulations in over 8,000 high schools, colleges and universities.